Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-04-15


race. There is to be no war in this
country on religious opinions, except
a war of words-a conflict of thoughts
of facts; and in that conflict the hosts
of superstition will 60 down. They
may not be defeated to-day, nor to-
morrow, nor next year, nor during
this century, but they are growing
weaker day by day.
This priest, McGlynn, has the
courage to stand up against the pro.
paganda. What would have been his
fate a few years ago? What would
have happened to him in Spain, in
Portugal, in Italy-in any other
country that was Catholic-only few
years ago? Yet he stands here in New
York, he refuses to obey Gods vicere-
gent; he freely gives his mind to an
archbishop; he holds the holy inquis-
ition in contempt. He has done a
great thing. He is undoubtedly an
honest man. He never should have
been a Catholic. He has no business
in that church. He has ideas of his
own-theories, and seems to be gov
erned by principles. The Catholic
church is not his place. If he re-
mains, he must submit, he must kneel
in the humility of abjectness; he must
receive on the back of his indepen.
dence the lashes of the church. If he
remains, he must ask the forgiveness
of slaves for having been man. II
he refuses to submit, the church will
not have him. He will be driven to
take his choice-to remain a member,
humiliated, Stunned, or to 60 out into
the great, free world, citizen of the
republic, with the rights, responsible
ties and duties of an American citizen.
believe that DR.. McGlynn is an
honest man, and that he really believes
in the land theories of Mr.. George.
have no confidence in his theories, but
l have confidence that he is actuated
by the best and noblest motives.
care you to 60 on the lecture plat
form again?"
II expect to after while. / am
waiting for the church to catch up.
got 80 far ahead that / began almost
to sympathize with the clergy. They
looked SO helpless and talked in such
. weak, wandering and wobbling kind
of way that I felt as though I had
been cruel. From the papers l sec
that they are busy trying to find out
who the wife of Cain was. see that
the Rev. DR.. Robinson, of New York
is now wrestling with that problem
He begins to be in doubt whether
Adam was the first man, whether Eve
was the first woman; suspects that
there were other races, and that Cain
did not marry his sister but somebody
else's sister, and that somebody else
was not Gains brother. One can
hardly overestimate the importance ol
these questions-they have such dir.
ect bearing on the progress Of the
world. If it should turn out that
Adam was the first man, or tina. he
was not the first man, something
might happen-I am not prepared tc
say what-but it might"
1t is curious kind of spectacle tc
see few hundred people paying a few
thousand dollars q year for the pur
pose of hearing these great problems
discussed: "Was Adam the first
man"" Who was Gains wifer" " Ha.
any one seen a map of the land ol
Nod~ "Where are the four rivers
that ran murmuring through. the
groves of Paradise?" "Who was the
snake? How did he walk? Wha,
language did he speakT This turns a
church into kind of nursery-makes
a cradle of each pew, and gives to each
member . rattle with which he can
amuse what he calls his mind.
The great theologisns Of Andover-
the gentlemen who wear the brass col
lars furnishSd By the dead founder
have been disputing among themselves
as tor what is to become Of the heathen
who fortunately died before meeting
any missionary from that institution
One can almost afford to be damned
hereafter for the sake Of avoiding the
dogmas of .Andover here. Nothing
more absurd and childish has ever
happened-not in the intellectual bu,
in the theological world.
There is no need Of the free think
ers saying anything at present. The
work is being. done by the church
members themselves. They are be-
ginning to ask questions Of the clergy
They are getting tired of the old idea.
tired of the consultations of eternal
pain-tired of hearing about hell
tired of hearing the bible quoted
or talked about-tired of the scheme
of redemption-tired of the Trinity
of the plenary inspiration of the bar
barbarous records of barbarous peo
ple-tired of the patriarchs and proph
ets-tired Of Daniel and the goats with
three horns, and the image with the
clay feet, and the little stone thai
rolled down hill-tired of the mud mar
and the ribbed woman-tired of the
blood of Noah, of the astronomy o.
Joshua, the geology of Moses-tiret
of Kings and Chronicles and Lamen
tations-tired Of the lachrymose Jere
niah-tired of the mOnstrous. the ma